


it all depends upon the people you choose and where you're from

by flow3rs



Series: intentions [5]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Comedy, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, POV Outsider, i hope this reads the way i want it to lmao, its basically the show/the office but in writing i tried my best okay, mockumentary!style
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:20:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23662996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flow3rs/pseuds/flow3rs
Summary: ej and ricky aren’t as good at keeping secrets as they think they are.orej and ricky but from everyone else’s perspective. mockumentary interview style.
Relationships: Big Red/Ashlyn Caswell, Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell
Series: intentions [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685080
Comments: 15
Kudos: 134





	it all depends upon the people you choose and where you're from

**Author's Note:**

> everytime i think im gonna write something thats less than two thousand words, it always ends up four thousand or more l m a o
> 
> this work is the product of me not giving nini and big red the screen time they deserve lol
> 
> title from "10/10" by rex orange county
> 
> as always, thank you all for reading :)

**_interviewer:_ ** _ so how do you all feel about ricky and ej? assuming you know about them, that is? _

“i just think it’s really cute how they think they’re hiding something,” carlos gushed to the camera.

he and seb stood side by side outside of the drama office, backpacks hanging off their shoulders as they waited for miss jenn to let them in.

“so cute,” seb added, his face being zoomed on quickly.

“like, hello? haven’t you ever watched _10 things i hate about you_? _pride and prejudice_? i mean, you can’t tell me that scene in the second _princess diaries_ when anne hathaway and chris pine are all like ‘ _i loathe you! well i loathe_ you!’ and then they make out doesn’t ring a bell? not to mention it got my nine year old self hot and bothered!” carlos confessed, not looking embarrassed at all. 

he continued his ramblings, “it's a classic enemies to lovers story right here. two people constantly picking a fight with each other, who swear they hate each other but they don’t know why, and then they realize that they’re both extremely attractive and all the tension between them was just sexual tension. boom! that’s ej and ricky right there for ya!”

“not to mention that they were both MIA for, like, an hour at ej’s birthday party? coincidence? i think not!” seb contributed, shaking his head.

“ _ ugh _ , don’t get me started on ricky and  _ parties _ . this boy cannot control himself when he has alcohol in his system! you’re trying to tell me that this white boy is gonna grind his ass on the boy he supposedly ‘hates’ just because it’s funny? no! my mother always taught me that drunk twerks are sober thoughts. and i stand by that.”

seb furthured his boyfriend’s point, eyes serious as they looked into the camera. “and he looked happy as hell to be throwing it back on ej, too.”

“not to mention that i have a video of  _ all of it _ that i put on my private snapchat story that night. not that those bitches even watched it,  _ s.m.h. _ but good thing they didn’t, because now i have some excellent blackmail material,” carlos smirked, holding up the video to show the camera.

“not that we’d ever out them!” seb reassured, looking concerned. “obviously this video can be taken as a joke with no context. but on a real note, there’s clearly a reason why they haven’t told us or any of the other theatre gang. i have a feeling though, that everyone already knows, so they might as well just tell us. i hope they don’t think we’ll judge them! i mean, me and carlos are literally in a relationship.”

carlos nodded in whole-hearted agreement. “but i get that they might want to figure out stuff with themselves first before shouting it out to the whole world to hear. which is totally valid! but honestly, they’re doing a horrible job at keeping it a secret if that’s what they're aiming for. i mean, just ask ashlyn!”

the camera cut to ashlyn, standing in front of her closed locker, books in hand. she had a class to get to but she figured answering this question would be a lot more entertaining.

“oh they’re so obvious,” ashlyn deadpanned. “i used to think that i was the only one that noticed and that everyone else was just dumb. but then big red texted me one day and was like, ‘have you noticed that ricky and ej have stopped fighting? is it because they finally admitted they have the hots for each other?’ god, i love that boy. he just gets it,” the ginger headed girl looked away, swooning.

she was startled out of her fantasies when the interviewer coughed behind the camera. 

“anyway, i really don’t know how i didn’t figure it out sooner. i live with one those dumbasses for fuck’s sake. i’m lucky to have only come home when they were fucking around once. god, they were loud. never in my life did i ever think i would have to hear ricky bowen screaming--”

she looked at the ground, recalling a memory she tried so hard to repress. a shudder ran up her spine.

“i’m not even gonna tell you what he was screaming. i never want to think about it again. thankfully, i yelled at ej when ricky left and now he texts me whenever ricky comes over. i never, ever,  _ ever  _ in my life want to experience that again. sometimes i can’t even look ricky in the eye.”

she made direct eye contact with the camera as it zoomed in on her face for a few moments. they finally zoomed out when she shrugged her shoulders, waving her hand like it wasn’t a big deal.

“but other than that, those two are so damn cute. i think ej told him that i know because sometimes when i’m home they come out of his room and hang out with me and we play uno and ricky and i will tag team to destroy ej. or we’ll order mcdonalds and get 100 chicken nuggets at midnight when ricky sleeps over. my favorite is when we watch a movie in the living room and ej and ricky cuddle. i take pictures of them because they look so cute and then ej pretends he hates them but then i look at his phone the next day and it’s his new lockscreen.”

she sighed thinking about the two boys. god, they were idiots. she loved them.

looking at the camera with an earnest expression she prayed, “i just really hope they don’t fuck each other up like they fucked with nini.”

the camera panned to nini, sat in the practice room after rehearsal, her head resting on her hands as she spoke to the camera.

“i’m not. like.  _ mad _ that ricky hasn’t said anything about it to me. i get that it’s probably overwhelming trying to figure everything out between them. and it would probably be awkward to go up to someone and be like ‘hey, it’s your ex here! just wanted to tell you that i’m hooking up slash dating slash am in love with your  _ other _ ex! hope that’s alright with you!’ and it  _ is _ fine with me! i’m over both of them,” nini disclosed, looking at the ground, frustrated.

she played with the loose threads of her t-shirt before continuing, “i just-- i thought i was closer friends with ricky that he would trust me enough to tell me straight up. i didn’t expect anything from ej, that guy is horrible at communication,” the brunette mumbled under her breath. 

“but ricky and i have been friends for so long, i guess i just thought that he wouldn’t hide something so important from me. and it’s not like they’re good at hiding it either.”

nini looked straight into the camera, her eyes wide. “i pretended like i didn’t know what happened between them when i barged into ej’s room at that party,” she admitted, her voice low and beginning to resemble a vague british accent as she got nervous, finally confessing what she had been keeping a secret for so long.

“it was  _ so obvious. _ honestly, i need an award for how good my acting was that night. i mean, seriously, the messed up hair, the wrinkled t-shirts, and ej’s fly wasn’t even up!” she raised her hands, scandalized.

continuing, she ranted. “and i  _ cannot _ believe that ricky genuinely thought i wouldn’t see all those damn hickies on his neck. i know i told him to give ej a chance, but i didn’t think he would give him  _ that _ many chances. sometimes i wonder why i ever gave those two clowns the time of day,” she cringed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.

her expression softened as she thought about the times she spent with both of them. as much as she clowned them, she really did care about both of them, even if they both hurt her at one point. she knew they were good people at heart.

“honestly though, they are kinda cute together. it definitely helps that they’re not constantly fighting over stupid shit anymore. and they have so much chemistry as kurt and ram. sometimes i’ll watch them from afar during rehearsal, and like--this is so stupid, but--i’ve never seen ricky so happy,” she looked into the camera, smiling genuinely as she thought about the boy.

“sometimes my heart aches because i couldn’t give that to him, but mostly it just makes me happy that he’s happy. the way they sneak glances at each other when they think the other isn’t looking--gah! it just makes me so  _ kilig _ !”

realizing that not everyone would know what she was talking about, she elaborated: “oh.  _ kilig  _ is, like, a filipino word that describes the feeling of romantic excitement...like butterflies in your stomach, yeah? if someone you liked gave you a flower on valentine’s day you would feel  _ kilig _ . pronounced  _ kee-leeg _ .”

she slunk back into her seat, exhausted at all the feelings she was able to get off her chest, as well as the tiring rehearsal the cast just endured.

finishing up her thoughts she concluded, “but yeah, that’s how i feel when i see them. i just wish they would tell me, but i guess they will when they’re comfortable. i was actually just talking to big red about this.”

cutting to big red, the camera panned around his bedroom, showing the multitude of poster’s hanging on his wall and the skateboad propped up on his desk before finally resting on the ginger himself, sitting on his bed.

“honestly, i didn’t even know ricky and ej were an actual thing until i realized that ricky, like, never hangs out with me anymore,” the junior stated matter-of-factly.

he shrugged, resuming, “i was kinda sad about it when i first realized, but then i  _ also _ realized that i’ve been spending a lot of time with ashlyn lately. which i did before, but ricky would always be on my ass about all that ‘bros before hoes’ bullshit and i’m a man of honor so i gotta hang with the bro before i hang with the hoe.”

he paused, eyes wide in realization as the camera zoomed in on his face. big red chuckled nervously, “ashlyn, if you ever watch this, you are not a hoe. i just said that because of the phrase, okay?”

“but anyway,” he carried on with his orginal thought, “i guess it  _ kinda _ sucks that ricky doesn’t hang out with me that much. but on the bright side, ashlyn and i have done so many awesome things! i taught her how to skateboard, we baked a cake in the shape of bernie sanders, and she read my palm and told me i was gonna die in 5 days! i’ve never been able to spend this much time with her. it’s been sick!” the red head gushed excitedly, as he reached behind the camera to give the interviewer a high five.

however, he sat back down on the bed and deflated a bit, thinking about his best friend.

“i do miss ricky a little, though. it kind of sucks that he’s ditching me, his  _ bro _ , to hang out with ej, his  _ hoe _ . that’s, like, so hypothetical!” he ranted.

the interviewer coughed, before correcting him, “you mean hypocritical?”

“potato, to-mah-to,” he retorted, waving them off.

“i believe the correct phrase is actually-- uh, nevermind. just continue.”

“alright,” big red began, “so besides the fact that ricky’s lowkey being a bad friend right now, he also doesn’t even wanna tell me about him and ej? i figured it was going to happen at some point, ricky is always in denial when he has a crush on someone, but he’s gonna stop hanging out with me  _ and _ not tell his best friend about something as major as this! it’s totally fucked up, man!”

the junior shook his head, frustrated. he looked back up at the camera, his expression softening. “i just hope he doesn’t get hurt again. or hurt anyone for that matter. he really is a good guy. and he deserves someone that sees that. i just wish he’d fuckin’ text me once in a while!”

just as big red said that, a ding rang from his phone, indicating he receieved a text. he fished the device out of his back pocket, seeing who was messaging him.

“huh, speaking of that, gina just texted me.”

the next person to be interviewd apeared as the camera cut to gina, practicing the choreo for the big dance number in heathers at the local dance studio. she gracefully did a pirouette before stopping in front of the camera.

“i like ricky. and ej’s tolerable sometimes. but their both still people i consider good friends,” she started off, before proceeding, “i just. for the  _ love  _ of me. cannot figure out how it’s possible for them to be more annoying when they like each other than when they hate each other,” she said, putting “hate” in air quotes.

“i mean, i thought it was annoying when they fought over stupid shit. that was easy to break up because everyone would just tell them to shut up. but now their fighting over stupid shit, but their  _ smiling  _ at each other and giggling like some middle school girls while doing it,” gina elaborated, exasperated, “like, what am i supposed to do? tell them to shut up because the hearts in their eyes are annoying me?! they would think i’m a total bitch!”

she mumbled under her breath, “well, i am a bitch, but that’s beside the point.”

the girl ran her hands through her curly hair, pacing back and forth, clearly stressed out. she put her hands on her hips and paused, “i guess i’m really just annoyed because they’re always at rehearsal looking at each other all cute and lovingly, always sitting next to each other and letting their knees brush, or playing with each other’s hands and it’s--it’s distracting! it’s distracting how good they look together. i’m sick and tired of seeing their lovey dovey eyes! like, damn, you bitches can’t save some love and affection for the rest of us?!”

gina groaned, her face in her hands and shaking her head. she looked back up, remembering something important.

“i forgot a crucial detail,” she admitted. “they never told me they were a thing or whatever. the only reason i know is because i caught them making out in the drama closet during a five minute break from rehearsal. those bitches didn’t even have the decency to close the door all the way! i power walked back to rehearsal with my mouth hanging open in shock and my throat not producing any words because i was  _ shook _ . and now everytime i look at them, it’s this soft-boi-call-me-by-your-name shit. get a room!”

she pushed the camera out of her face dramatically, before reeling back and making sure it was okay. gina apologized to the camera man, embarrassed, “i’m so sorry, that was just for dramatic effect. you can edit this out, right?”

“yeah, don’t worry about it,” he waved his hand, good-naturedly.

she gave him an awkward thumbs up before grabbing her belongings and heading out the door. the camera followed her as she continued talking, looking over her shoulder.

“anyway, i’m headed off to nini’s to do facemasks with her, ashlyn, and kourtney. we’re sleeping over and spilling tea. i just know kourtney’s got some good shit for us tonight. she always does.”

the camera then cut to kourtney, sitting in one of the dressing room chairs, her legs crossed and her makeup perfectly done.

“i’m just waiting for some shit to go down between those two scrawny white boys,” she started, foregoing all introductions.

“i mean, what do you expect?  _ both  _ of those boys hurt my best friend, what do you think they’re gonna do to each other? and i just feel it in my bones that they’re on some  _ we’re just friends _ bullshit,” the curly haired girl looked into the camera unimpressed.

“i just  _ know _ they’re on some ‘ _ lemme waste my time by saying i ain’t got feelings for you’ _ typa shit! these two are at the top of the ‘bad communication’ pyramid!”

she leaned forward so that her face was close to the camera. “oh, did you forget? did you forget that ricky didn’t have the balls to say he loved nini back? that the solution to his problem was  _ breaking up with her _ . and then he had the  _ audacity _ to chase after her when she was happy with her new man? and had the  _ nerve _ to join a musical even though he hates musicals just to meddle with her relationship instead of just pulling her aside and telling her how he felt like a normal person? did you forget?”

she kept at it, moving closer to the camera, “did you forget that ej was so insecure in his relationship with nini that he made ashlyn steal nini’s phone so that he could go through her text messages? that his way of apologizing was by writing a terrible ass song that made my ears bleed because it was all about him? that he didn’t have the emotional range to just pull her aside and tell her that he cares about her, wants the best for her, wants to take care of her?  _ DID YOU FORGET?” _

she inhaled and exhaled slowly, calming herself down as she sunk back into her chair.

“my point is, i see the way these boys look at each other. i see something there. but if they want this thing between them to last, they need to check their communication skills. they need to be real with other, the way they should’v been in the past. if y’all think for a second that these idiots will be straight up with each other like normal human beings instead of making everthing so damn complicated, then  _ chile,  _ you got a big storm coming.”

kourtney grabbed her tumbler from the vanity beside her, filled with calming chamomile tea. she took a long sip before she went on, smirking, “i’ll just be here sipping my tea and watching it all happen.”

just then, miss jenn walked into the dressing rooms, looking for a costume piece. she noticed kourtney, calling her over.

“how can i help, miss jenn?” the junior asked, read for any task at hand.

“i need to find the varsity jackets that kurt and ram are supposed to wear so that ricky and ej can try them on.”

at the mention of the two boys’ names, both women look diretly into the camera as it zoomed in on them.

the camera cut to the next segment, showing miss jenn sitting at the desk in her office, smiling and looking as poised as ever with her hands folded.

“ricky and ej are some of the most talented boys i have ever encountered in all my years in show business,” she began, smiling genuinely, “they have such beautiful voices and acting capabilities, not to mention that they put their all into everything they do”

“however,” the teacher paused, a smile still plastered on her face as the camera zoomed in on her. “i did not expect them to be putting this much of  _ everything they do _ into their performances as kurt and ram. they are aware that kurt and ram aren’t actually gay right?”

she stared into the camera is if it could answer all the questions in the universe. “that’s not to say that putting yourself into the shoes of your character isn’t a fine acting decision but...i feel as though they might be misinterpreting their characters a little bit?”

the camera finally zoomed out swiftly from her face as she looked around the room, contemplating.

“kurt and ram are homophobic assholes. that’s why it’s funnier and ironic when they’re killed and jd writes a suicide note telling everyone that they were gay. it’s because no one would’ve expected the two most hypermasculine, jocked up, fatphobic, bullies to be in love with each other,” the drama teacher explained.

she raised her voice as she continued, “but if the two douchebag jocks already look like they’re in love from the moment they step on stage, then that defeats the whole purpose of the dramatic irony! ricky and ej need to stop looking at each other like they hold the moon and stars or kurt and ram will be ruined!”

miss jenn closed her eyes, doing a breathing exercise to calm her nerves, “i’m fine. it’s fine. everything’s fine. i just have to communicate with them better about what their roles are. i’m actually going on a date with ricky’s father, mike, tonight so maybe i’ll bring it up to him then.”

her tight smile forced its way back onto her face as the next scene cut to mr. bowen being interviewed in the family’s kitchen. he stood behind the island sipping a cup of coffee.

“ricky and ej? like,  _ my _ ricky?”

“your ricky,” the interviewer emphasized.

“and you’re telling me that they’re a  _ thing _ ? like, an  _ item _ ? they’re courting each other?”

“uh, something like that.”

“huh,” mike’s brows furrowed together, the gears in his head visibly turning. 

he mumbled under his breath as he came to a realization, “so that’s why he’s always sleeping over ej’s house. i should probably talk to him about that.”

looking back up at the camera, he continued calmly, “hmph. looking back on it, i probably should have figured this out sooner. ej’s around here a lot too when i come home from work. but they were always doing some regular boy stuff like playing video games in the living room or watching a movie…” he drifted off, coming to another realization.

“there was this one time, though, that i came home from work and the two of them were wrapped in a blanket cuddling with each other on the couch,” he recalled. “i kind of just assumed they were the type of guys who didn’t let toxic masculinity get the best of them. but i do admit that i’ve never seen ricky sleeping with big red in all the years they’ve been friends so that probably should’ve been a sign…”

as he finished his sentence, the sound of the front door opening could be heard from the kitchen.

“i’m home!” ricky yelled, kicking off his shoes and placing them on the rack by the door before walking into the kitchen. the camera panned towards him quickly causing him to jump, eyes wide as he looked into the lens. “oh, hello.”

“you’re home a little late,” mr. bowen noted, looking at his son over the rim of his mug.

ricky rummaged through the fridge and cabinets trying to find something to eat. he didn’t look up as he replied, “oh, yeah i hung out with ej after rehearsal.”

the camera quickly zoomed in on the father’s face as he gave it a knowing look that ricky didn’t catch.

“speaking of ej,” mr. bowen started, putting his mug down as his son turned to look at him, confused. he held a box of frosted flakes in one hand and a handful of the cereal in another. “i know you guys are like a  _ thing--” _

“oh my fucking god,” the young boy spluttered, dropping the box on the ground and spilling the cereal all over the kitchen floor.

“but i just want you to know that no matter who you’re with, it’s always important to be safe and--”

“can we please not have this conversation!”

“and even though neither of you can get pregnant, there are still a lot of risks and precautions you need to take when having sex--”

“dad! i’m gonna cry!” the junior mourned, covering his face with his hands, mortified.

“you’re both still young an you need to respect each other’s boundaries.”

ricky didn’t think he had ever blushed this hard in his life. “if i didn’t wanna have this conversation with you when i was with nini, what makes you think i want to have it when i’m with ej!”

“but most importantly, just know that i will always love you no matter who  _ you _ love,” the father finished, trying to keep a straight face while looking at his son.

getting up from where he was leaning on the counter he remarked, “and even more important than that...you got frosted flakes all over the floor so you better clean it up because i don’t want ants,” mr. bowen patted the boy on his back as he walked out of the kitchen with his arms crossed, smirking.

ricky screamed into his hands.

**Author's Note:**

> i really hope yall like this lmao it was so hard to write
> 
> also i used kourtney as my outlet lmao i really do be projecting my feelings through her doe 😳
> 
> also im filipino like nini!! so i wanted to incorporate a hint of culture in there uwu


End file.
